Friday, March 5, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A5
Gearhart photographer fi nds inspiration locally
By ISA KAUFMAN-
GEBALLE
Coast Weekend
Don Frank is a profes-
sional photographer and
documentarian based in
Gearhart. His most recent
gallery exhibition “Sum-
mer of Letters” opened last
spring at Imogen Gallery in
Astoria.
Throughout the corona-
virus pandemic, Frank has
continued shooting photos
for his commercial photog-
rapher business. He also has
documented local people
and businesses affected by
the pandemic.
Coast Weekend: How
did you get started with
photography?
Don Frank: It was
always a hobby as a child
... I became the photo editor
for the college paper, which
was the fi rst real responsi-
ble photography thing I did.
I just really enjoyed being in
the darkroom. What I real-
ized was that photography
gave me access to places
backstage at political rallies
or concerts that I would not
have normally been able to
see.
CW: How did you tran-
sition into your professional
career and how did that
bring you out here to the
Oregon Coast?
DF: After college, I
started working and that
kind of stuff in another fi eld
and realized I didn’t really
enjoy that as much. I had
a come-to-Jesus moment.
Like, “What do I want to
do?” I decided I want to
be a photographer. Then, I
started trying to fi gure out
how to do that ... And so I
wound up becoming a photo
assistant for a couple of stu-
dios in Portland, and that’s
where I learned how to be a
photographer and a business
person. Then I went out on
my own in 2001 and moved
out to the beach 19 years
ago.
CW: How would you
describe your photographic
style?
DF: Well, most of every-
thing I shoot is out in the
world. I’m a commercial
photographer. I shoot for
businesses, hotels, cities,
Self-portrait by Don Frank.
golf courses, restaurants.
The hospitality industry is
one of my biggest clients, so
that’s on location ... I have
had studios out here. Now
I can set up space for peo-
ple for those kinds of things.
But I usually travel to where
they are.
CW: Can you tell me
about your photography
exhibition at Imogen Gal-
lery last spring, “Summer
of Letters,” which featured
images of golf courses?
DF: I’m represented by
the Imogen Gallery in Asto-
ria. I have an exhibition
there every two years, which
is a common artist schedule.
It takes time to develop all
that. And so I was like, “OK,
well, what am I going to do
in 2020?” This was in 2018
and unbeknownst that there
was going to be a pandemic
and global crisis.
I started focusing on golf
because I’m a golfer. I have
several golfi ng-type clients
from golf courses. And I had
this whole philosophy about
what it means to golf —
and (what it means) to walk
a golf course. So I just had
this whole plethora of imag-
ery and photography of golf
courses from all around the
world.
CW: What was it like
to have your show opening
during the pandemic?
DF: As artists, we spend
two years or however long
in our lifetime working on
that stuff. And so there’s
supposed to be this art walk
coming through the gallery.
That did not happen. The
show was there — but there
were no people. So that was
a little challenging to deal
with. But I’ve said before —
those are fi rst world prob-
lems. I mean, there are much
bigger issues than an empty
art gallery ... I just want peo-
ple to be able to see it for
whatever it is. I just think
artists need to be truly cel-
ebrated as they are trying
to fi gure out the work that
is going to come out of this
year.
CW: Was this a venture
from the work you typically
pursued?
DF: I used photographs,
but this time I wound up
scratching sayings (into
them) from movies, famous
golfers ... I tried to fi t those
in with the images to try and
personalize them instead
of just being photos. But in
this process, I discovered
this sculptural element using
what I call the detritus of the
game, which are things that
people use one time and then
throw away like a pencil and
other elements like that. And
so I started collecting these
items for like two years until
I had enough actually to
work with. This was a great
opportunity to push my cre-
ative elements. As an artist,
that is important to me — to
do different things. A lot of
the artists in this area that I
really respect and know per-
Don Frank
A photo by Don Frank of a baby with a sandy foot.
sonally — that’s how I think
they approach it. I’m just
trying to keep up with those
people. And that’s how the
show became the “Summer
of Letters.”
CW: What personally
drew you to take photos
related to golf? What would
you like people to take away
from your exhibition?
DF: My personal rela-
tionship with golf is about
exercise but it’s also kind
of a philosophy. It’s a chal-
lenge of how to overcome
emotions and to celebrate
the small victories — not get
dismayed by the small fail-
ures. I think that I fi nd many
similarities between the phi-
losophy of golf and the phi-
losophy of life. It may not be
for everybody ... I mean, if
you do something you love,
then you never work a day in
your life.
CW: How has the geog-
raphy and environmental
features of the Oregon coast
inspired your photos in the
exhibition?
DF: The golf course
that I golf at in Gearhart is
the oldest golf course on
this side of the Mississippi
Darnell: ‘We have a really strong team here now’
Continued from Page A1
R.J. Marx
Gretchen Darnell
retirement party.
at
her
really good,” she said, with
event bookings and signed
contracts through 2030.
As
Clatsop
County
moved into the lower-risk
category for the corona-
virus this month, Darnell
looks forward to an increase
in attendance. “We will just
keep pushing forward and
booking clients as we can,”
Darnell said.
A silver lining, she said,
is that during the pandemic
ease. Addy was the bravest
person I have ever known.
The city and Russ were
so supportive while Addy
struggled through health
issues, and I am so grateful
for that. I took a lot of time
off.”
Tina Eilers, the conven-
tion center’s offi ce manager,
will serve as the interim
director of sales. The posi-
tion will fi rst be advertised
in-house, Darnell said, to
consider candidates that
work for the city. If a can-
didate is not selected, the
search could be widened.
What’s next for Dar-
nell? S pending time with
grandchildren,
traveling,
gardening, walking and
volunteering.
“It’s been an honor and a
privilege to represent the city
in this way for as many years
as I have,” Darnell said. “I
feel really confi dent in the
team that is here. I leave
with full confi dence. I know
they’ll be in great hands. We
have a really strong team
here now.”
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Ghost Conference.
Over the decades she wit-
nessed the change from low-
tech to high-tech manage-
ment, from booking methods
to building features.
“It’s changed a great
deal,” Darnell said. “When
I fi rst came, everything was
done in a three-ring binder.
We didn’t have the internet
or email, so everything was
done sort of by hand and
with a lot of phone calls,
whereas today most of the
business I do is by email.”
The
job’s
mission
remains the same, she added,
representing the conven-
tion center in a positive way
throughout the Northwest.
As for her decision to
step down, she said, “It’s
time, I guess.”
Notwithstanding restric-
tions as a result of the coro-
navirus pandemic, Dar-
nell said she is going out
on a high note. “We made it
through the expansion, and
the calendars are looking
smaller local groups have
been able to use the building.
These, in turn, can prove to
be ambassadors to statewide
organizations like the Ore-
gon Realtors Association or
the Oregon Society of Certi-
fi ed Public Accountants.
Darnell raised three chil-
dren as a single parent while
working at the convention
center.
Her daughter, Lindsey
Darnell, is her oldest, liv-
ing in Portland with her son.
Lauren Oxley is her middle
child. S he lives in Seaside
with her husband, Wyatt,
and two daughters.
“Addy Darnell was my
youngest child, and she
passed December 2014, at
age 20,” Darnell said. “She
had an emergency liver
transplant in 2017, and sur-
vived 3 1/2 years with multi-
ple health issues. She died of
liver failure, the root cause
was Wilson’s d isease, which
is a rare metabolic disease
she was born with.
“One of my other daugh-
ters also suffer from the dis-
River, which is pretty cool.
The way it’s laid out is very
natural. But another thing
that’s really important to
me is environmentalism. It
is something I’ve been an
advocate for a long time.
And so as far as the Oregon
Coast goes, I mean, I think
it’s one of the most beauti-
ful places. The access that
people have to the beaches
... And I think Oregon itself
just has this kind of great
ethos about it that it’s pretty
mellow. People appreciate
the smaller things. It’s not
fancy out here but it’s got
some real soul to it. When
I moved out here almost
20 years ago, it was a little
challenging to meet people
and stay busy. But I quickly
found my people and things
to do to keep me busy in the
environment and in nature. I
love it. I just love it. I don’t
know where else to go.
CW: Do you have any
current projects in the
works, outside of your com-
mercial photography and
exhibitions?
DF: Lately, I have been
trying to fi gure out how to
document the pandemic. I
just recently started docu-
menting these restaurants
that keep closing ... (I am)
trying to document what
these specifi c type of busi-
nesses are dealing with ...
I’ve been poking my nose
into restaurants like, “Hi,
I’m Don Frank.”
CW: What feedback did
you get from these commu-
nity members?
DF: I’ve been getting a
lot of really great feedback
exactly along those lines like
“Thank you for doing this”
but I’ve also gotten an earful
all up and down the gamut ...
I don’t have a position on it.
As a photographer, I’m there
to just document it. But it
has actually been really eye
opening for me to get their
point of view cause these are
their livelihoods, you know,
and I really feel for them.
It’s like you’re like docu-
menting history. We’re liv-
ing in history right now.
CW: What is your advice
for artists?
DF: Well, I think the fi rst
thing for any artist is just
to keep working. That’s the
most important thing and
develop their ideas. I devel-
oped my ideas because the
skills come with time. I
mean, some people are bet-
ter than others, or whatever,
but everybody’s trying to
rise up and become the best
artist they can be.
And that takes time. It
takes effort and dedication,
for sure. I know a lot of art-
ists are nervous about show-
ing their stuff because art is
an expression of ourselves.
And I understand that. I
think that, at some point,
you have to get over that and
put yourself out there.
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The Seaside Downtown
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Half of all food and bev-
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Clinic celebrates
fi rst anniversary
Columbia
Memorial
Hospital celebrated the one-
year anniversary of CMH
Medical Group & Urgent
Care – Seaside, located in
the Seaside Outlet Mall.
The clinic saw nearly 7,000
patient visits since opening
Feb. 17, 2020.
Over the past year the
clinic added services and
specialties and now sees
patients for primary care,
urgent care, podiatry, med-
ical oncology, women’s
health, pediatrics, phar-
macy, lab, social work and
imaging services. There
were 1,514 new patient vis-
its to the clinic in 2020.
The clinic’s medical
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They are supported by other
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